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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28121823">age is just a number (right?)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/zayheathers/pseuds/zayheathers'>zayheathers</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>sketchbook one-shots/stories [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hilda (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Getting Together, Misunderstandings, Spoilers for Season Two, johanna is confused about kaisa's age, learning people's ages</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:07:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,425</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28121823</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/zayheathers/pseuds/zayheathers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>in which Johanna learns something new about Kaisa, Kaisa is endlessly amused, and Hilda comes home (knowing far too much for her mum's liking).</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Johanna | Hilda's Mum/The Librarian (Hilda), Johanna/Kaisa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>sketchbook one-shots/stories [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2060220</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>118</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>age is just a number (right?)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Well, back when I was a kid, there was this game… Can’t quite remember the name, Dangerous Dragons? Dragon Night-something?” Johanna shakes her head, coming back to the point. “Anyway, this game is a lot like that game, so I thought we might try it?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She and Kaisa—the librarian—are sitting on the couch of Johanna’s home, facing each other on the couch in a comfortable routine of Saturday nights. It’s relatively new, but it feels warm… Safe.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Like home.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She’s not sure how to feel about such a strong connection after such a short period of time. It’s just one of those things, she supposes. One of those things she’ll just… ‘roll’ with.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh yes, I remember that game,” Kaisa says with a grin in her smooth and nerdy and utterly endearing accented voice. “It was my favourite game to play with my friends.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh,” Johanna says, doubtful. “Wouldn’t you be a bit young to play at the time?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She remembers when she first played the game. It’d been out for a few years or so, but Johanna was determined to figure out the rules by herself, even though her parents were happy to help her with the instructions. Maybe Hilda took after her in that way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I was around Hildie’s age, actually.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Really? A-are you sure we’re talking about the same game?” Johanna asks with a small chuckle. “Because I couldn’t be more than six when the game came out.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Unexpectedly, Kaisa lets out a peal of laughter, and Johanna's eyebrows knit together in a light frown. It makes her feel a little foolish. “Johanna. How old do you think I am?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Well, that was a question wasn’t it. She’d assumed the woman was young, younger than her certainly, but judging from the look on Kaisa’s face, maybe she should shoot higher than she normally would under the circumstance.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She puts her teacup down and rests her head on the back of the couch, realising—with a quick glance to the corner of her eye—that the space between her and Kaisa has… dwindled. Almost to nothing. That makes her feel warm, too.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I, uh, well,” the brunette tilts her head, a little sheepish. “Twenty-five…? No, six. Seven…?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kaisa places a cold hand atop Johanna’s warmer ones, settles more comfortably into the couch and gives her a sweet smile—and Johanna gets the feeling that she’s going to be proved incredibly wrong.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And then, just when she thinks the other woman isn’t going to answer and she takes a sip of her tea, Kaisa’s saying, “Forty-two.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>They’re lucky that the tea that flies out of her mouth misses anything of real or sentimental value. It stains the carpet, but that can be cleaned up easily. She needs to process this first.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>What</em>?” Johanna breathes when she’s recovered from her coughing fit. “You’re forty-two?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Johanna blinks, her eyes full of wonder. “Almost a full ten years older than me...” It’s hard to register.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“If it makes you feel any better, you were quite close.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Because twenty-seven is <em> so </em>close to forty.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s substantially closer than nineteen.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Johanna widens her eyes in shock. “<em>Nineteen</em>?” She pauses, taking a moment to really think about it. “You know what, nevermind. I can believe it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her cheeks are flushing some sort of red in embarrassment, she can feel it radiating through her skin when she buries her head in her hands. “Oh my goodness. I can’t believe—oh my goodness.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What?” Kaisa says, and she sounds so concerned, so genuine, that Johanna’s heart <em> melts</em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I-it’s nothing. It’s just—oh I can’t believe I thought I was older than you. And I thought that <em> me </em> being older than <em> you </em>was going to be a problem.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“For what?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, you know. For this <em> Thing</em>. Our Thing.” Kaisa’s head tilts to the side, and she huffs. “This unspoken—”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The door slams open. “Hey, Mum! Hi Kaisa.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hilda, hi!” Johanna practically yells at her, jumping up from her seat and suddenly breathless. “How was Frida’s? What d’you get up to? How’s Frida? How’s David? A—”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She’s stopped by a solid hand on her shoulder, and half turns her head to find Kaisa standing behind her. “Maybe give her a chance to answer all your questions, first.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hilda laughs, taking off her scarf. “Yeah, mum. I don’t know what’s got you all worried, but Frida’s was fine. We were working on plans for next year, what sort of badges we’ll earn and that.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sounds lovely.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah, and Frida says she reckons it’ll be easy with all the new witch stuff she’s learnt. But we’re not sure if that’s against the rules so we’re double-checking tomorrow.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, wonderful,” Johanna says, looking at Kaisa and watching the other woman’s eyes become soft as she listens to Hilda ramble on about her day and <em> Oh, isn’t that a sight</em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I suppose this means you’ll be off,” she says, once Hilda’s taken a breath and sat herself down at the dining table. Without asking. But Johanna's a little too preoccupied to deal with that right this moment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Right. I’ll, uh, I’ll walk you down.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That would be… nice.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Okay, I’ll just grab my keys.” Which are hung right by the doorframe. So maybe she would have been better off not mentioning it. Oh well, what’s done is done.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kaisa smiles at her when she unlocks the door—what Johanna likes to think as her special smile, not the sweet one she gives the kids, not the sentimental one she gives Tildy, not the tight one she gives the people she doesn't particularly like, but the <em>Johanna</em> one—and that alone makes any of her previous embarrassment worth it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It’s a relatively quiet walk down the stairs to the doorway. Relatively quick, too, and before she knows it, they’ve arrived.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, that was a fun night.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, I enjoyed it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And Johanna, tired of pleasantries and idle small talk skirting around things for the sake of propriety and politeness, takes a deep breath, a leap of faith. “Are we ever going to talk about this? The Thing between us?” She asks, hoping Kaisa’ll understand what she’s getting at the second time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Our attraction to each other? If you want to act upon it, I—”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She blushes, just a little, at the implications that follow Kaisa’s raised eyebrow, because <em> yes </em>she’s been thinking about that too. But that’s not it. She tells her just as much.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh,” the witch says, finally dawning on her, and she smiles again. “The Thing. That... I… like you, and you like me. I think that our relationship has a chance of developing into something more, if we let it. Are you willing to let it?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Are you?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kaisa laughs, and Johanna can’t help but laugh with her, expelling the nervous energy through her lungs. “I asked first.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I—” Johanna says, not sure what exactly to say. She’s never been one with words, preferring to put pen to paper, hand to action. After all, actions speak louder than words, anyway, right? No harm in going with her heart, delivering her <em> yes </em> in a totally different way?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Johanna kisses her. Shortly, and sweetly, but makes her intentions clear. It feels like a time-stopping, heart-melting kiss, a feeling that she clearly wants to experience again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Judging from the look on Kaisa’s face—and the blush painting her cheeks—she does, too.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Just to be sure,” Kaisa says once she’s recovered enough to speak, “that was a yes?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Johanna throws her head back as she laughs, teasing, “yes, you old woman,” before kissing her again.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>She’s still a little dazed when she comes back into the apartment. So much so that she doesn’t notice Hilda’s ‘innocent’ (she can’t fool anyone, let alone Johanna) smile. “So,” her daughter drawls, making her jump and clutch her chest.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Heavens, Hilda. You startled me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I startled you? I’ve been here this whole time, mum.” There’s now an amused grin stretching across Hilda’s face, and Johanna’s not sure how to feel about it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Right. Well.” She fiddles a little, shifts her weight from side-to-side.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You can sit down, you know,” Hilda says, and it’s only then she realises she has yet to sit down, and is still holding her arm to her body in the doorway of their home.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes. Right.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Do you need a drink or something?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tontu nods, “Yeah, you’re looking a little flushed, Johanna.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Self-consciously, she raises the back of her hand to her cheek, making both Hilda and Tontu—and Alfur—giggle.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Let’s just eat.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you for reading! kudos and comments are appreciated but never necessary :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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